Seth Carico gets Barihunk treatment in Berlin press

December 30, 2014, 7:58 pm

≫ Next: Ben Wager to perform in two very different, very spectacular spaces

≪ Previous: Andrè Schuen making major debuts in 2015

Seth Carico in the Berliner Morgenpost

Seth Carico was recently featured in the Berliner Morgenpost in a wonderful profile that begins with his barihunk status. The article perfectly captures him as a singer who combines great singing, with a physique made for the stage and amazing acting ability. The article is available online, but requires a login.

His recent portrayal of Kassandra (Cassandra) in Iannis Xenakis'Oresteia at the Deutsche Oper Berlin had critics and audiences raving. His shirtless pictures on Barihunks tripled our daily readership! For anyone who hasn't seen Carico live, it's worth a trip to wherever he's singing.

Seth Carico in The King & I (left) and Oresteia (right)

Carico, who has been a part of the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper Berlin since 2010, will have a busy season this year. Major roles include Dulcamara in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore with fellow barihunk Davide Luciano as Belcore, Figaro in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with fellow barihunk John Chest as the Count and the Police Chief in Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk with Nadine Secunde. If you can't make it to Berlin, he'll be singing in Verdi's Falstaff at the 100th Anniversary mainstage season of the Seagle Music Colony this summer in upstate New York.

There are only 24 hours left to buy your 2015 Barihunks Calendar featuring 19 of opera's sexiest men. Click below to order now!!!

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Ben Wager to perform in two very different, very spectacular spaces

December 31, 2014, 8:27 am

≫ Next: Zachary Gordin: Killer Body in Killer Role

≪ Previous: Seth Carico gets Barihunk treatment in Berlin press

(L-R) Oslo Opera House, Ben Wager, duPont Children's Hospital

In the coming year, American bass-barihunk Ben Wager will be singing in two spectacular buildings, which couldn't be more different.

On January 16th, he'll kick off a new collaboration between OperaDelaware and the duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware for performances in the stunning atrium of their new health care facility. The series was designed to demonstrate the transformative healing power of music in health care. The performances begin at noon, and are open to patients, staff, friends, family, and to the public. Wager started his career in the chorus of OperaDelaware.

Calixto Bieto's racy Carmen

He then heads to Oslo, Norway to perform Bizet's Carmen in arguably the most stunning opera house in the world, which also has the most perfect acoustics of any theater. He'll be performing in Calixto Bieto's racy and somewhat controversial production of the popular opera, which is famous for a fellatio scene that takes place behind a car and poor Zuniga getting kicked to death, only to be pissed on as he lay dying. That thankless role will be sung by Musa Ngqungwana. Additional cast and ticket information is available online.

Wager returns to the U.S. in the Spring to sing Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca with Lyric Opera of Kansas CityfromApril 18th – 26th.

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Zachary Gordin: Killer Body in Killer Role

December 31, 2014, 11:29 am

≫ Next: "Barihunk" Vanessa Bousay to appear in San Francisco

≪ Previous: Ben Wager to perform in two very different, very spectacular spaces

The Dayton Opera has announced that über-barihunk Zachary Gordin is replacing John Arnold in their production of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. The role of the accused killer Joseph de Rocher should be a natural fit for the gym toned singer, who is required to sing an aria while doing pushups. This is Gordin's role debut and first appearance with the Dayton Opera. Singing the critical role of Sister Helen Prejean will be mezzo-soprano Catherine Martin.

Performances are on February 27 and March 1st. Their season continues with another barihunk, Matthew Worth, in the oft-shirtless role of Zurga in Bizet's Pearl Fishers. There will be two performances on April 17 and 19. Additional information and tickets for both operas are available online.

Dead Man Walking at the Mälmo Opera with Samuel Jarrick (left) and Rasmus Mononen (far right)

Dead Man Walking, has quickly entered the standard repertory since its San Francisco premiere in 2000. Amazingly, this was Heggie's first opera and it has become a star vehicle for baritones and especially barihunks. The role of Joseph De Rocher has been sung by numerous barihunks, including Michael Mayes, Philip Cutlip, Etienne Dupuis, Jordan Shanahan, Samuel Jarrick, Daniel Okulitch, Mel Ulrich. Thomas Gunther, John Arnold, David Adam Moore, Marcus DeLoach.

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"Barihunk" Vanessa Bousay to appear in San Francisco

December 31, 2014, 5:58 pm

≫ Next: Introducing bass-barihunk John Paul Huckle

≪ Previous: Zachary Gordin: Killer Body in Killer Role

Erik Chalfant a.k.a. Vanessa Bousay

Vanessa Bousay, a drag character created by classically-trained baritone Erik Chalfant will appear in a cabaret show at San Francisco's famed Martuni's on Sunday, January 11th at 7 PM.

Her set will include "I'll Be Seeing You,""Three Queens In A Fountain,""Spring Came Back To Vienna,""Copacabana,""Good Morning Baltimore" and many more.

Chalfant, who studied with the legendary operatic soprano Phyllis Curtin, created the character of Vanessa Bousay as a tribute to the woman he dubs his "teacher, mentor and friend." He holds a Master of Music degree in Voice Performance from Boston University, School For The Arts. He is an alumnus of the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, and the Britten-Pears School For Advanced Musical Studies in Aldeburgh, England.

On July 5th, she performed the National Anthem before 26,000 people at AT&T Park for the San Francisco Opera's annual "Opera at the Ballpark." Chalfant beat out 70 other contestants who had submitted videos to classical radio station KDFC's "Star-Spangled Sing-Off.”

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Introducing bass-barihunk John Paul Huckle

January 1, 2015, 2:42 pm

≫ Next: Seattle Opera keeps barihunk tradition alive in new era

≪ Previous: "Barihunk" Vanessa Bousay to appear in San Francisco

Bass-barihunk John Paul Huckle

It's not often that Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca catches our eye, but that was the case with American bass-barihunk John Paul Huckle, who looked pretty damn sexy with his open shirt at the Teatro Carlo Fenice in Genoa, Italy. He was performing in a rotating cast opposite the Tosca of Susanna Branchini, the Scarpia of Elia Fabbian, and Rubens Pelizzari and Rudy Park alternating as Mario Cavaradossi.

Huckle hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and looks like he could play fullback for the Steelers. He studied at Boston University Opera before completing his Master of Music at the Indiana Univerisity where he studied with the legendary bass Giorgio Tozzi. At Indiana University he performed the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Pistola in Falstaff, Friar Laurence in Roméo et Juliette, Hobson in Peter Grimes, Sarastro in The Magic Flute, Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro and the Count Des Grieux in Manon.

He went on to hone his skills at young artist programs at the Central City Opera, Tulsa Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Opera North, Brevard Music Center, and the Sarasota Opera. While at Sarasota Opera, he received the distinguished Leo Rogers Outstanding Apprentice award.

John Paul Huckle(right)and Tosca at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa (Photo: Marcello Orselli)

In 2007, he made his professional debut as Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto with the Cleveland Opera.
Since the 2010-2011 season, he has been singing in major European houses including the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Regio di Torino, Teatro Verdi in Pisa and the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa.

John Paul Huckle sings Il lacerato spirito from Verdi's Simon Boccanegra:

He has become a regular at the Teatro Carlo Felice where he has performed Simone in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi opposite Rolando Panerai, the Second Guard in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Colline in Puccini's La bohème and Friar Laurence in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette opposite tenor Andrea Bocelli.

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Seattle Opera keeps barihunk tradition alive in new era

January 2, 2015, 5:37 pm

≫ Next: Nicolas Courjal in solo recital in Orange

≪ Previous: Introducing bass-barihunk John Paul Huckle

German bass-barihunk Andreas Bauer

The Speight Jenkins era at the Seattle Opera is officially over, as incoming General Director Aidan Lang has announced his first full season, which will be presented in 2015-16. The good news is that the company's long-standing commitment to barihunks is in tact with some of the world's sexiest baritones and basses in all of their casts!

The six season opera will include a new production, a world premiere, and two of the repertory's greatest operas that have never been seen before in Seattle, Verdi's Nabucco and Donizetti's Maria Stuarda. Lang is also maintaining Seattle Opera's great Wagnerian tradition by presenting The Flying Dutchman with barihunk Greer Grimsley. He'll be alternating the role with Alfred Walker.

Nabucco will feature the Seattle debuts of barihunks Andreas Bauer and Christian Van Horn alternating the role of the High Priest Zaccaria, in a cast that also includes Gordon Hawkins in the title role and Mary Elizabeth Williams in the fiendishly difficult role of his daughter Abigaille.

Morgan Smith(left)and John Moore (right)

The company is also presenting the world premiere of Jack Perla's An American Dream, which resulted from the company's story telling initiative, the Belonging(s) Project. The World War II based libretto tells the story of strangers bound together after a Japanese American family is forcibly removed from where they live on an island in Puget Sound, and the new residents slowly piece together the history of their home. Barihunk Morgan Smith will sing the role of Jim, an American soldier married to Eva, a German Jew who has fled the Nazis and moved to the Pacific Northwest.

Morgan Smith will also alternate the role of Count Almaviva in a new production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro with fellow barihunk John Moore. The cast also includes barihunk Aubrey Allicock as Figaro, a role he will rotate with Shenyang.

Sarah Larsen with Michael Todd Simpson, Steven LaBrie, Joseph Lattanzi, and Colin Ramsey in the Seattle Opera's The Consul modeling Barihunk tee shirts (Photo by Elise Bakketun)

Other barihunks appearing with the company are Michael Todd Simpson as Cecil in Maria Stuarda and Keith Phares and Brett Polegato rotating the role of Zurga in Bizet's The Pearl Fishers. The production will also include the Seattle Opera debut of Jonathan Lemalu as Nourabad. The female leads in the Donizetti will be Christine Rice and Joyce El-Khoury as the doomed queen, while Mary Elizabeth Williams and Keri Alkema sing Queen Elizabeth I, her hated rival.

Tickets and additional cast information are available online.

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Nicolas Courjal in solo recital in Orange

January 2, 2015, 8:09 pm

≫ Next: Barihunk Kevin Greenlaw proposes to girlfriend mid-duet

≪ Previous: Seattle Opera keeps barihunk tradition alive in new era

Recitals by basses are way too rare, which is why we used proceeds from last year's Barihunks calendar to present bass-barihunk Aaron Sørensen in recital with tenor Jonathan Blalock. Solo recitals are even rarer, which is why were thrilled to see the announcement from the Chorégies d'Orange summer opera festival that they will be presenting the amazing Nicolas Courjal on August 1st.

The French singer appeared at the festival last season as the High Priest of Baal in Verdi’s Nabucco and the previous year as Sam in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.

Nicolas Courjal sings Gremin's aria from Eugene Onegin:

With the stage to himself, he'll present a program of French melodies by Henri Duparc and Jacques Ibert and a selection of arias from Mozart’s Magic Flute, Gounod’s Queen of Sheba, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Rossini’s Barber of Seville, Massenet’s Don Quixote and Verdi’s Les Vêpres Siciliennes. He will be accompanied at the piano by José Imhof, making his first appearance at Orange.

Tickets are available online and we suspect that they will sell fast.

If you can't wait until August, you can catch the singer as Gessler in Rossini's William Tell in Monte Carlo, Paris and London, King Mark in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde in Bordeaux, and the Verdi Requiem in Marseilles.

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Barihunk Kevin Greenlaw proposes to girlfriend mid-duet

January 3, 2015, 5:23 pm

≫ Next: Sam Dundas in Julie Taymor's Magic Flute

≪ Previous: Nicolas Courjal in solo recital in Orange

Kevin Greenlaw and Marjukka Tepponen

American barihunk Kevin Greenlaw pulled a quick one on his girlfriend soprano Marjukka Tepponen during a New Year's Eve gala in Jyväskylän, Finland. Tepponen walked on stage to sing theduet"Lacidaremdamano" from Mozart's Don Giovanni. On the other side of the stage, she was expecting baritone MikaPohjonen. However, Greenlaw walked out singing the duet, pulled out a ring, knelt before her and proposed marriage (she accepted, much to the audience's delight).

MarjukkaTepponenandKevinGreenlaw met last year while singing Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro in Turussa (Turku), Finland. The couple will perform Siblelius' fiendishly difficult Kullervo Symphony with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra on April 17th.

Much to his delight, she accepted, making them the second operatic couple to get engaged on stage in a week after tenor Pene Pati proposed to Amina Edris during the Christmas holiday. Greenlaw isn't the first barihunk to pop the question on stage. In 2009, Jason Hardy proposed to girlfriend Carrie Kahl after a performance of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at Opera Birmingham (she also accepted).

She was about to sing La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni when, instead of her intended duet partner coming on stage, up popped her boyfriend on bended knee.
She is Finnish soprano, Marjukka Tepponen. He is British baritone, Kevin Greenlawn.
Well, what could she say?
The pop-up happened during a New Year’s gala concert in Jyväskylä, a small Finnish town with its own opera and symphony orchestra.
- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2015/01/true-romance-soprano-is-bowled-over-by-stage-proposal/#sthash.bWYATgu9.dpuf

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Sam Dundas in Julie Taymor's Magic Flute

January 4, 2015, 8:00 am

≫ Next: Laurence Meikle pulls an Opolais in Germany

≪ Previous: Barihunk Kevin Greenlaw proposes to girlfriend mid-duet

Sam Dundas as Papageno and Taryn Fiebig as Pamina (right)

One of our favorite singers from Down Under, Sam Dundas, will be rotating the role of Papageno with Luke Gabbedy through January 30th at Opera Australia. The company is bringing back the whimsical, Kabuki-inspired Julie Taymor production of Mozart's The Magic Flute for their 2015 Summer Season.

With English text by J D McClatchy, this production was originally created for the Metropolitan Opera of New York and can be seen on DVD with barihunk Nathan Gunn. During the spoken text, Dundas delivers his lines with an Australian accent to give it a true local feel.

Dundas is in all of the performances except for January 3, 10, 23. Tickets are available online.

Last year he appeared with the company as Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, Ceprano in Verdi's Rigoletto and Prosdocimo in Rossini's Il Turco in Italia.

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Laurence Meikle pulls an Opolais in Germany

January 4, 2015, 4:29 pm

≫ Next: Introducing Canadian Barihunk Dylan Langan

≪ Previous: Sam Dundas in Julie Taymor's Magic Flute

Laurence Meikle in last night's La bohème in Wiemar (right)

Australian barihunk was a last minute replacement last night in Puccini's La bohème at the Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar. The singer is no stranger to the opera having performed four roles: Marcello, Schaunard, Benoit and Alcindoro. What's amazing is that he's scheduled to sing Marullo in Verdi's Rigolettotonight at the Theater Nordhausen.

The story is reminiscent of soprano Kristine Opolais, who stepped into the Met's La bohème a night on April 5, 2014 a night after having performed Madama Butterfly. What makes Meikle's back-to-back performances so amazing is that it's not in the same opera house, but 90 minutes down the road.

When he's done with Rigoletto, he heads back to Wiemar to take on Baron Douphol in Verdi's La traviata beginning on January 24.

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Introducing Canadian Barihunk Dylan Langan

January 8, 2015, 12:35 pm

≫ Next: Barihunks galore at exciting new San Francisco Opera season

≪ Previous: Laurence Meikle pulls an Opolais in Germany

Dylan Langan

We're introducing readers to the multi-talented Canadian barihunk, composer and musician Dylan Langan. We learned about him after a reader forward a feature article from the Waterloo Region Record in Ontario, Canada, which you can read HERE.

He's currently pursuing his Honour’s Bachelor of Music with a concentration in Composition and Vocal Performance at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. He's studying voice with internationally acclaimed baritone James Westman. In addition to singing, he has studied bassoon, piano, saxophone, euphonium and guitar.

Sam Bibby plays Dylan Langan's Waltz in G Major:

As a composer, Langan has produced over 350 works of Electronic Dance Music alone. While best known classically for his Violin Concerto in D Minor, Langan has written for a variety of other instruments and ensembles. He currently studies under Jules Léger Prize winner Linda Catlin Smith and is in the process of writing a number of works.

On February 1st, Langan will be directing and performing in his operatic composition Rise of the Roaches. From February 27-March 1, he will perform Marco in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. Both performances are at Wilfrid Laurier University. This summer, he'll be honing his skill further at the Halifax Summer Opera where he'll perform the role of Carl Oleson in Kurt Weill's Street Scene.

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Barihunks galore at exciting new San Francisco Opera season

January 8, 2015, 1:21 pm

≫ Next: John Brancy takes WWI tribute to Carnegie Hall

≪ Previous: Introducing Canadian Barihunk Dylan Langan

Nicolas Testé, Zachary Nelson and Greer Grimsley

There is a lot of buzz coming out of San Francisco, where the opera just announced their new season and they are embarking on a worldwide search for a new General Director to replace the legendary David Gockley. The frontrunner is rumored to be director Francesca Zambello, who regular readers know coined the phrase "Barihunk" and is revered by the operators of this site.

As for the newly announced 2015–16 season, it is loaded with barihunks! The big news is Greer Grimsley in the San Francisco premiere of David McVicar’s production of Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, co-starring hunkentenor Brandon Jovanovich and rising Wagnerian sensation Rachel Willis-Sørensen. Performances will run from November 18–December 6, 2015.

Tongues are atwitter about the US debut of opera bad boy Calixto Bieito, whose provocative version of Bizet's Carmen is being presented to the occasionally stodgy War Memorial audience with Zachary Nelson as Escamillo. The opera is infamous for a scene involving oral sex behind a car. Nelson will rotate the role with Michael Sumuel.

Mariusz Kwiecien and René Pape

If our email box is any indication, our readers seem to be most excited about the prospect of seeing two of the greatest barihunks in the world sharing the stage for Verdi's Don Carlo. Polish über-barihunk Mariusz Kwiecień will sing Rodrigo and bass-barihunk René Pape as Philip II. They will be joined by the amazing tenor Michael Fabiano making his role debut as Don Carlo, soprano Krassimira Stoyanova as Elisabetta and Nadia Krasteva is Princess Eboli. Performances are June 12-29, 2016.

Also on the docket will be Thomas Hampson in Verdi's Luisa Miller; the barihunk trio of Elliot Madore, Gerald Finley and Wayne Tigges in Sondheim's Sweeney Todd; rising superstar Philippe Sly as Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute; Lucas Meachem in Rossini's The Barber of Seville; and, Nicolas Testé as Raimondo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

Other operas being performed are Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa and the American premiere of The Fall of the House of Usher—a double bill presentation of Gordon Getty’s Usher House and Robert Orledge’s reconstruction of Claude Debussy’s La Chute de la Maison Usher.

Subscriptions are on sale beginning January 12, 2015 and single tickets will go on sale beginning June 29, 2015.

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John Brancy takes WWI tribute to Carnegie Hall

January 10, 2015, 3:30 pm

≫ Next: Theo Hoffman in concert of "Great American Songwriting Teams"

≪ Previous: Barihunks galore at exciting new San Francisco Opera season

John Brancy & Wallis Giunta (left): Brancy as Papageno(right)

On January 13th, John Brancy will be at Carnegie Hall to perform his recital honoring the centenary of World War I that he performed last month with Vocal Arts DC. The concert is titled "Silent Night: A World War I Centenary Tribute in Song" and features songs from England, Germany, Austria, France & America. He'll be joined by Ken Noda at the piano in Weill Recital hall. The program includes music by Butterworth, Gurney, Orff, Alma Mahler, Ravel, Poulenc, Debussy, Ives and renditions of "My Buddy" and "Danny Boy"

The gifted young singer, was the winner of both the Sullivan Foundation and Marilyn Horne Song Competitions before graduating from Juilliard. Brancy has also already made solo recital debuts at both Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall, and has appeared in opera in Paris, Dresden, and Frankfurt.

Tickets are available online.

If you want to see him in opera, you'll have to head to Canada where he takes on Papageno in Mozart's Magic Flute with the Edmonton Opera opening on January 31 and then Figaro in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro with Lyra Opera Ottawa opening March 21. The latter production includes his girlfriend Wallis Giunta as Cherubino.

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Theo Hoffman in concert of "Great American Songwriting Teams"

January 10, 2015, 4:28 pm

≫ Next: Lee Poulis back as Oppenheimer; Don Giovanni to be broadcast

≪ Previous: John Brancy takes WWI tribute to Carnegie Hall

Theo Hoffman

Barihunk Theo Hoffman will part of seven singers from Julliard joining accompanist Steven Blier for as evening of music from "Great American Songwriting Teams." The concert will feature music by George & Ira Gershwin, Comden & Green, Kander & Ebb, Bock & Harnick, Rodgers & Hart (& Hammerstein), Leiber & Stoller, and others.

Coleman & Leigh, who will be represented by a delightful number from Little Me. The program features some famous songs (“You and the Night and the Music,” “Love Potion #9”), some best known to Broadway aficionados (“Little Tin Box,” “The Wrong Note Rag”), and some that will be a delightful discovery for listeners (an unpublished Gershwin gem called “Luckiest Man in the World”).

The show is presented by the New York Festival of Song and Juilliard’s Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts on Wednesday, January 14, 2014 at 8:00 PM at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater.

Theo Hoffman sings Marc Blitzstein's "Stay in my arms":

Other singers on the program include soprano Tiffany Townsend, mezzo-sopranos Kelsey Lauritano and Hannah McDermott, and tenors James Knight, Aaron Mor and Alexander McKissick (that's A LOT of tenors!).

Tickets are $20 for the public, $10 for students, and free for Juilliard students, faculty, and staff. Tickets are available online or by calling (212) 769-7406.

On March 8th, Hoffman debuts with the Portland Symphony Orchestra as The Jailer in Poulenc's The Dialogues of the Carmelites in a cast that includes fellow barihunk Troy Cook.

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Lee Poulis back as Oppenheimer; Don Giovanni to be broadcast

January 10, 2015, 7:28 pm

≫ Next: RIchard Rittelmann in Liszt rarity

≪ Previous: Theo Hoffman in concert of "Great American Songwriting Teams"

Lee Poulis gloriously shirtless onstage and off

We think the world would be a better place of American barihunk Lee Poulis would just walk around shirtless all of the time. We just learned that he's returning to a role where he'll be decked out in a suit, so we thought we'd share some of these pictures.

Poulis will be returning to the role of Robert Oppenheimer in John Adams'Doctor Atomic at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Spain on March 13, 16 and 18. Jessica Rivera will sing the role of Kitty Oppenheimer. Poulis first sang the role in the German premiere in 2010 at the Saarländisches Staatstheater in Saarbrücken. He then reprised the role a year later at the Finnish National Opera.

Tickets and additional cast information for the Seville performances are available online.

Lee Poulis as Robert Oppenheimer in Saarbrücken

If you can't make it to Seville, Poulis will be performing Leporello opposite the Don Giovanni of fellow barihunk Christopher Burchett at the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre on January 16 and 18. The January 16th performance will be also broadcast on Iowa Public Radio at 2 PM CST. Click HERE for the broadcast. He previously sang the title role in Don Giovanni at Sarasota Opera in 2011.

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RIchard Rittelmann in Liszt rarity

January 14, 2015, 10:30 am

≫ Next: Watch Elliot Madore in Charpentier & Rameau

≪ Previous: Lee Poulis back as Oppenheimer; Don Giovanni to be broadcast

Richard Alexandre Rittelmann as Escamillo and in the Barihunks Calendar

Richard Alexandre Rittelmann, who was one the winners of our Barihunks Charity Calendar photo contest, has some interesting concerts on the horizon.

On February 8th, he'll sing Ludwig, one of the main baritone parts in Franz Liszt's rarely performed Die Legende von der heiligen Elisabeth at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos under Arturo Tamayo. Liszt wrote the score between 1857-62, using a libretto by Otto Roquette. The story depicts the life of Hungary's Saint Elizabeth and incorporates the Catholic plainchant used on her feast day, as well as Hungarian melodies. From the plainchant, Liszt extracted a short motive, which he used as a symbol of the cross. The piece is scored for plenty of low voices, including three baritones and two basses as well as a mezzo-soprano, soprano and a chorus.

A little side note of interest, Rittlemann is part Hungarian. Tickets are available online.

Eva Marton sings the prayer from Die Legende von der heiligen Elisabeth:

On February 20th, he then returns to more standard fare when he performs the torreador Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen. He sings the role opposite the gypsy Karine Ohanyan on the French Riviera at the Palais de l'Europe in Menton.

From March 6-21 he sings Sergeant Sulpice in Donizetti's La figlia del reggimento at the Teatro Nuovo in Torino
.

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Watch Elliot Madore in Charpentier & Rameau

January 16, 2015, 4:53 pm

≫ Next: Watch Christopher Dylan Herbert in all-star "Saul"

≪ Previous: RIchard Rittelmann in Liszt rarity

Elliot Madore and Danielle de Niese in Les Sauvages

A reader wrote us to inform us that Elliot Madore's performance in excerpts from Jean-Philippe Rameau's Les Sauvages with William Christie and the Orchestre des Arts Florissants is available online. Joining him in the cast are Danielle de Niese as Zima, Marcel Beekman as Damon and Laurent Naouri as Don Alvar.

He also performs in Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Te DeumH.146 with Rachel Redmond, Katherine Watson, Marcel Beekman, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Elliot Madore, fellow barihunk Marc Mauillon and Laurent Naouri.

The remainder of the performance includes Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville's In exitu Israel and François-André Danican Philidor's Rondo de Bacchus.

Click HERE to watch the entire performance.

Elliot Madore performing with the Orchestre des Arts Florissants

Madore can next be seen at the Zurich Opera from February 15-March 3 when he sings Harlekin in Richard Strauss'Ariadne auf Naxos. Eva-Maria Westbroek will sing Ariadne and fellow barihunk Erik Anstine will sing Truffaldin.

He next appears in the U.S. on March 15 at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio for a song recital of Poulenc, Ives, Wolf, Schumann and others. Tickets are available online.

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Watch Christopher Dylan Herbert in all-star "Saul"

January 17, 2015, 7:25 am

≫ Next: Duncan Rock in intimate Don Giovanni

≪ Previous: Watch Elliot Madore in Charpentier & Rameau

Christopher Dylan Herbert (far left & right)and Anthony Roth Costanzo

As part of the Twelfth Night Festival in early January, Julian Wachner and the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra presented a fully-staged production of Handel’s Saul. The title role was sung by barihunk Christopher Dylan Herbert, who possesses one of the most eloquent and richly beautiful baritone voices in the business. David is sung by the stunningly gifted countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and bass-barihunk Dashon Burton sings the role of the Ghost of Samuel. Rounding out the cast is Ryland Angel as Jonathan, Jessica Muirhead as Merab, Marie-Eve Munger, as Michal and Molly Quinn.

Click HERE to watch the entire performance.

Christopher Dylan Herbert sining "With rage I shall burst his praises to hear!"

Saul is a dramatic oratorio taken from the First Book of Samuel in the Bible's Old Testament. The story of Saul focuses on the first king of Israel's relationship with his eventual successor, David; one which turns from admiration to envy and hatred, ultimately leading to the downfall of the eponymous monarch.

The work, which Handel composed in 1738, includes the famous "Dead March," a funeral anthem for Saul and his son Jonathan. The "Dead March" was played at the funerals of Winston Churchill and George Washington, as well as being played many times during the journey from Washington D.C. to Springfield, Illinois of the body of Abraham Lincoln after his assassination.

You can next hear Christopher Dylan Herbert on January 22nd, when he performs a recital with accompanist Christopher Reynolds at Julliard's Morse Hall. The will perform music by Liszt, Shostakovich and Rautavaara. Herbert is also part of the Grammy-nominated ensemble New York Polyphony and you can check out their schedule online.

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Duncan Rock in intimate Don Giovanni

January 17, 2015, 3:41 pm

≫ Next: Nude Siegfried, Shirtless Wotan at Thalia Theater in Hamburg

≪ Previous: Watch Christopher Dylan Herbert in all-star "Saul"

Duncan Rock as Don Giovanni with the HET Sinfonieorkest

We've been so excited about Duncan Rock's American stage debut as Don Giovanni in May with the Boston Lyric Opera that we almost overlooked his current run in the opera with the HET Sinfonieorkest in The Netherlands that's going on right now. Fortunately, there are still five performances remaining between January 18-25 and tickets are available online.

Director Eva Buchmann has made the story particularly intimate in this production placing the audience on the stage and around the orchestra.

We recently shared a little bit of trivia about Duncan Rock, which was that he started his musical career playing the bagpipes. The HET Sinfonieorkest adds that he played basketball and the bass.

This summer he'll be at Glyndebourne singing Tarquinius in Fiona Shaw's production of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia.

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Nude Siegfried, Shirtless Wotan at Thalia Theater in Hamburg

January 17, 2015, 7:18 pm

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Philipp Hochmair

Director Antú Romero Nunes has created a hybrid version of Siegfried and Götterdämmerung at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg using material from composer Richard Wagner and the 19th century German dramatist Christian Friedrich Hebbel. He's also presenting the innocent forest child Siegfried nude, which is true to the original story as the hero bathes in the blood of the freshly slain dragon to become invincible.


Philipp Hochmair and Thomas Niehaus in "Der Ring: Siegfried/Götterdämmerung"

Alexander Simon as Wotan and Daniel Lommatzsch as Siegmund

Wagnerian purists should be warned, as this version contains far more spoken dialogue than the famed leit motifs of The Ring. There are six remaining performances and tickets are available online.

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